HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/17/2017 Public hearing minutes on BILL#2649 PUBLIC HEARING
MAY 17, 2017
A public hearing of the Council of the County of Kaua`i was called to order by
Arryl Kaneshiro, Chair, Budget & Finance Committee, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017,
at 1:39 p.m., at the Council Chambers, 4396 Rice Street, Suite 201, Historic County
Building, Lihu`e, and the presence of the following was noted:
Honorable Arthur Brun
Honorable Mason K. Chock
Honorable Ross Kagawa
Honorable Arryl Kaneshiro
Honorable Derek S.K. Kawakami
Honorable JoAnn A. Yukimura
Honorable Mel Rapozo
The Clerk read the notice of the public hearing on the following:
"Bill No. 2649 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING
ORDINANCE NO. B-2016-812, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE
OPERATING BUDGET OF THE COUNTY OF KAUAI, STATE OF HAWAII,
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2016 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2017, BY
REVISING THE AMOUNTS ESTIMATED IN THE HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT FUND (Housing Agency, 3920 Haoa Street, #113 Purchase),"
which was ordered to print by the Council of the County of Kaua`i on April 27, 2017,
and published in The Garden Island newspaper on May 5, 2017.
The hearing proceeded as follows:
Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Do we have any registered speakers?
JADE K. FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA, County Clerk: We have no
registered speakers and have not received any written testimony, Committee Chair
Kaneshiro.
Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Is there anyone in the audience wishing to
testify on this? Ana.
ANA MOHAMAD DESMARAIS: It will not be three (3) minutes, I
promise. I just want to take the opportunity to talk about affordability. I think it is
fantastic that you are purchasing homes and reselling them at a descent price for
there to be affordable housing in the true sense of what affordable is. It should be
reconsidered when it is time to think of the cost of the Hanama'ulu project to establish
truly affordable housing, which in my opinion, one hundred thousand
dollars ($100,000) for a townhome duplex would be affordable, and three hundred
thousand dollars ($300,000) for a single-family residence would be considered
affordable. Anything more than that is just a higher tax bracket. When you get to
six hundred fifty thousand dollar ($650,000) homes, you need to be earning about one
hundred twenty thousand dollars plus ($120,000+), and that is a high tax bracket to
be in.
PUBLIC HEARING 2 MAY 17, 2017
BILL NO. 2649
I also want to take the opportunity to mention the police force that we have on
our island. I want to acknowledge the beautiful respect I have for the fact that they
acted in accordance to what I feel ought to be the way of the police behavior on this
island. The last thing that should happen is that our police should be prosecuting
people well within their human rights. I feel it is against their Code of Ethics and it
is against their oath to protect and serve. I wanted to take that opportunity.
Committee Chair Kaneshiro: Okay. Thank you. Is there anyone else
wishing to testify? Seeing none, this public hearing is now adjourned.
There being no further testimony, the public hearing adjourned at 1:42 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
JAD . FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA
County Clerk
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